P.T. Barnum's American Museum 'Re-Opens' at the Graduate Center after 150 Years

On July 13, 1865, in a spectacular fire witnessed by thousands of New Yorkers, P. T. Barnum's American Museum in downtown Manhattan mysteriously burned to the ground. The museum will soon re-open its doors to the public - this time in virtual form.

Barnum's artifacts, oddities, productions, and creatures are now available for exclusive preview at The Lost Museum, a newly redesigned website produced by the Graduate Center's American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning (ASHP/CML) and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. The site officially 'opens' on July 13, the 150th anniversary of the museum's destruction.

From the mysterious FeeJee Mermaid and beautiful Circassian Woman to Confederate president Jefferson Davis in his wife's dress, many revelations and deceptions are again on view, supplemented by a rich archive of historical documents and artifacts.

Visitors also have the option to seek out clues to discover who, among suspects representing social and political figures of the period, may have set the fatal 1865 fire.

"Barnum's American Museum was one of the most significant cultural institutions in New York City history yet is now largely forgotten," said Andrea Vasquez, Associate Director of ASHP/CML. Visited by the wealthy, the famous, and also New York's working class, the museum combined entertainment with education and moral uplift. This re-creation offers a glimpse of this intriguing institution, this time in a new, enhanced format with larger graphics, clearer navigation, and with full access for tablets and devices."

The original five-story building on Broadway and Ann Street - once called 'the most visited place in America' - had housed a continuing array of curios since its opening in 1841. Its fiery demise three months after the close of the Civil War, with the terrible spectacle of burning animals and onlookers cavorting among smoldering attractions, provided an unforgettable end to an institution created by the legendary showman that had entertained, educated, and often scandalized a generation of Americans. And even after its disappearance, Barnum's American Museum would remain the model for mass entertainment extravaganzas.

It was not until 2000, with the first unveiling of The Lost Museum, that visitors were afforded a 3-D tour of the American Museum and its myriad attractions. Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, informed by the latest scholarship, and utilizing cutting-edge technology, The Lost Museum was widely hailed in the press and broadcast media; received numerous new technology and education awards and citations; and garnered tens of thousands of virtual visitors internationally.

Visit the updated Lost Museum site ahead of its July 13 launch.